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| List: Carolina-Leps Date: Fri, 31 Jul 2026 15:25:37 +0000 (UTC) From: ROBERT CAVANAUGH (via carolinaleps Mailing List) <carolinaleps...> Subject: Carteret County, July 31 |
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------=_Part_4081121_1840442486.1785511537454 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable The rains have been a welcome relief from the long summer drought when hard= ly a butterfly was seen.=C2=A0 I have irrigation and very large flower gard= ens all over my property.=C2=A0 Most of my front yard was converted from a = camelia/azalea bed to a roughly 1500ft sq bed of annuals and perennials.=C2= =A0 The perimeter of the back and side yard are allowed to grow mostly natu= ral where a plethora of native trees, shrubs, and weeds provide a wide sele= ction of LFP.=C2=A0 About 20+ years ago, I documented 27 different species = of butterflies breeding on my property.=C2=A0 That number has been reduced = to less than half owing to regular and intensive mosquito spraying by the c= ounty.=C2=A0 Even the bat population has been greatly affected.=C2=A0 I cou= ld easily count a dozen bats over my yard at dusk in the 1980s.=C2=A0 Now I= am lucky to see one or two a week if at all.Of unusual coastal note, in th= e first week of July a female Monarch came to my yard and over the course o= f days abundantly laid eggs on milkweed...of which I have hundreds of free,= -growing plants.=C2=A0 Eventually, I caged 8 larvae that all pupated July 3= 0. Today, 3 more females showed up all avidly feeding from my flowers and l= aying eggs.=C2=A0 The 6=C2=A0surviving chrysalids should eclose by this tim= e next week.=C2=A0 This is all happening early in the season for here.=C2= =A0 Also, the absence of Gulf Frits and Cloudless Sulphurs by now is notewo= rthy I could continue writing, but enough said for now.=C2=A0=C2=A0 Bob Cavanaugh ------=_Part_4081121_1840442486.1785511537454 Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit The rains have been a welcome relief from the long summer drought when hardly a butterfly was seen. I have irrigation and very large flower gardens all over my property. Most of my front yard was converted from a camelia/azalea bed to a roughly 1500ft sq bed of annuals and perennials. The perimeter of the back and side yard are allowed to grow mostly natural where a plethora of native trees, shrubs, and weeds provide a wide selection of LFP. About 20+ years ago, I documented 27 different species of butterflies breeding on my property. That number has been reduced to less than half owing to regular and intensive mosquito spraying by the county. Even the bat population has been greatly affected. I could easily count a dozen bats over my yard at dusk in the 1980s. Now I am lucky to see one or two a week if at all. Of unusual coastal note, in the first week of July a female Monarch came to my yard and over the course of days abundantly laid eggs on milkweed...of which I have hundreds of free,-growing plants. Eventually, I caged 8 larvae that all pupated July 30. Today, 3 more females showed up all avidly feeding from my flowers and laying eggs. The 6 surviving chrysalids should eclose by this time next week. This is all happening early in the season for here. Also, the absence of Gulf Frits and Cloudless Sulphurs by now is noteworthy<div><br></div><div>I could continue writing, but enough said for now. </div><div><br></div><div>Bob Cavanaugh<br><br></div> ------=_Part_4081121_1840442486.1785511537454-- |
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